Arrow 4×20 – Genesis

Will I stop watching Arrow in season five? More and more, that seems like a likely scenario because this is not the show I obsessed about in season two.

It says a lot when a Thea subplot is the highlight of an Arrow episode, but her whacky adventure in fake Suburbia amused me way more than the core narrative. Sure it’s insanely ridiculous to fathom the idea that Damien built an ENTIRE dome city right beneath Star, but the visual of Thea figuring out the truth and slamming face-first into an invisible wall? Priceless. Ladies and gents, Arrow has well and truly gone bonkers.

Sadly, the rest of the episode was dedicated to Diggle – a character I was never really invested in. Nevertheless, this was probably the strongest episode the character’s ever had (which isn’t saying much). The writers actually surprised me in that they allowed the character to take his brother’s life. Although death can never be trusted on this show (it has basically lost all meaning), I have a feeling they’ll stick with this one since it was the only way Diggle could deal with Andy’s constant threats against his family. Although the storyline then turned idiotic with Diggle lying to Lyla about the circumstances of the death, David Ramsay did some good work and definitely stepped up to the plate (God knows Stephen Amell’s acting lately has been atrocious).

And then there’s the show’s new “mystical” element. I actually didn’t mind the introduction of Fortuna (who proved to be more engaging than the rest of the cast combined) but Ollie’s “training” scenes were far too rushed. As a result, I didn’t buy his eyes lighting up and flinging Darkh back right in the nick of time. If you’re gonna have your protagonist do something kickass, you have to build up to the moment and earn it (and that definitely didn’t happen here). Naturally the writers had to ruin it by making Felicity the “source” of Ollie’s newfound magical abilities. Ugh.

Bits & Arrows

– So Damien can just crack necks in one second with a wave of his hand? Why hasn’t he ever done that with Ollie and Team Arrow? Oh I know, because then we wouldn’t have had a season. THIS SHOW!

– Star City being referred to as a “nexus” reminded me quite a bit of Sunnydale being labeled a “hellmouth” in Buffy. Seeing as how the show’s writers refer to that (superior) show quite a bit, I’m not surprised they ripped it off.

– I enjoyed Ollie’s vision with Deathstroke’s appearance and all the various death scenes we endured throughout the series. Moira 🙁

– The bus sequence with Diggle’s family getting attacked was somewhat impressive in scope. I love it when Lyla kicks ass.

– Felicity running over Hive agents with the van was a cool callback to season two.

– So we finally know what Genesis is and it’s as predictable as you probably imagined: Damien wants to nuke the world and rebuild using his ark (the dome city). Original.

Starling Quips

Damien: Ladies and gentlemen and recently deceased, it is time to begin the final phase of Genesis.

Fortuna: Special brand of nasty loco that one is.

Damien: It’s a small world, isn’t it? Your bother-in-law being my loyal servant. Thanksgiving at your home is gonna be so interesting this year.

ConclusionWhile Diggle had some intriguing moments, this was an otherwise ridiculous episode of Arrow.